Kanye West fans tend to be younger, mostly aged 13-19, but some fans are older than 50. They appreciate Kanye's unique musical style but are also open to different genres like pop and rock. Many fans admire Kanye's talent and unique approach to music, though some do not like him as a person. Most Kanye fans have traits of being Explorers, who enjoy discovering new music, and Aspirers, who care about others' perceptions of their achievements. However, the fans showed a mix of traits and were not all categorized in the same way.

1. KANYE WEST
He is extremely talented both as a producer and a lyricist.
Also, Kanye is way ahead of the game on the style front. Much of what
he wears today tends to be fairly popular months after.
Many people hate how arrogant he is (without question he is) but he
always backs it up with great music (one of the few arrogant musicians
who can and that trait alone could be admirable to many).
We’ll be analyzing the video to Kanye West – Good Morning in particular.

2. 4 C’s
Young and Rubicam created a theory that looked at
the brands people bought and how they felt about
them. It created the understanding of the deeper
appeals of the brands.
The theory divides people into seven types, depending
on their core motivation, these are: Explorer, Aspirer,
Succeeder, Reformer, Mainstream, Struggler and
Resigned.

3. initial assumptions
• I suspected people that listen to Kanye West are
younger and are mostly within the 13-19 age gap.
• Tend not to like artists from the ‘Pop’ genre.
• Kanye West fans would like him because of his
unique style and approach to music.
• Would be an ‘Explorer’, ‘Aspirer’ or ‘Struggler’.
• Wouldn’t be a ‘Succeeder’, ‘Reformer’, ‘Mainstream’
or ‘Resigned’.

4. Why do I think this?
They are:
• Explorers- Because of the music video’s different style, it’s a
trippy cartoon that’s different to usual videos we see. There’s a
sense of discovery with the new style that presents the
‘Explorer’ side of Kanye.
• Aspirers- The video shows how Kanye West (The bear)
comes up against all the odds and prevails to graduate,
therefore showing how he and his fans would be ‘Aspirers’ as
others’ perceptions is important to them.
• Strugglers- The video shows the bear didn’t plan ahead and
woke up too late risking missing his graduation, therefore he’s
a ‘Struggler’.

5. Why do I think this?
They aren’t:
• Succeeders- The music video describes Kanye as being
independent, without a strong desire for control other other
people – therefore not having the ‘Succeeder’ trait.
• Reformers- I don’t think they’re ‘Reformers’ as music video
presents Kanye as standing up for himself and running away
from his problems instead of confronting them.
• Mainstream- The bear didn’t follow the conventional way of
getting to graduation, and had a different approach that wasn’t
‘Mainstream’.
• Resigned- I didn’t think fans would be ‘Resigned’ as the video
was very modern and didn’t follow traditional conventions.

6. Were my assumptions correct?
Q1- How old are you?
As I predicted, Kanye West’s
fans are mostly within the 13-19
age gap.
However I did get a few
surprises as over 15% were
aged 50 or over. I didn’t expect
this because I thought the older
generation to prefer music from
their era or something with a
little more vocals than Kanye
West’s typically techno-sounding
songs.

7. Were my assumptions correct?
Q2- Which of the following
artists would you prefer to
listen to?
I was surprised with the results from
this, and my assumption of Kanye
West fans tending not to like songs
from the ‘Pop’ genre, as although
Kanye West was the artist with the
most votes, Adele and Coldplay came
very close. This goes to show Kanye
fans aren’t only open to the unique
variety in his songs, but a unique
variety of genres too.

8. Were my assumptions correct?
Q3- Why do you like Kanye
West?
As I thought, a lot of fans admired
Kanye’s unique approach to music
and appreciated his talent.
Also, in typical Kanye fashion, a lot of
fans responded with some slightly
“unique” answers..
However I wasn’t prepared for some
of the answers saying they didn’t like
him. This goes to show that even if
you produce great music your
personality can affect your public
appreciation.

9. Were my assumptions correct?
Q4- How do you choose the
music you listen to?
As I assumed, most (65%) of the
Kanye West fans are ‘Explorers’ and
prefer to find new artists/songs they
haven’t heard before. I put this down
mainly to the diversity amongst
Kanye’s songs proving that his fans
generally enjoy change and are driven
by a need for discovery.

10. Were my assumptions correct?
Q5- Should you share
achievements on social
media?
I predicted Kanye West fans would
also be ‘Aspirers’, and this proved to
be true as 70% thought that “It’s fine
to be proud of your achievements and
to showcase them on social media”.
This goes to show that they’re driven
by others’ perceptions of them rather
than by their own values.

11. Were my assumptions correct?
Q6- Do you share new
music or keep it to
yourself?
I didn’t think Kanye West fans would
be ‘Succeeders’, and I was right.
They chose to keep new songs to
themselves over persuading
friends/family to listen to it. This
shows that they don’t have a very
strong desire for control and aren’t
constantly striving to better
themselves and reach the top.
Kanye’s fans tend to be relaxed and
have a passive attitude towards life.

12. Were my assumptions correct?
Q7- How would you react if
someone said they didn’t
like your music taste?
I was also correct in assuming they
were ‘Reformers’, as I didn’t think
they’d tell them that they’re wrong and
that their music is better. 65%
preferred to respect others’ opinions
and don’t search for inner
enlightenment. They don’t mind if
people tell them what to do.

13. Were my assumptions correct?
Q8- Do you feel more
comfortable blending in or
standing out?
I thought Kanye West fans would
prefer standing out in society,
therefore not falling in to the
‘Mainstream’ category. However
despite my assumptions they
preferred blending in. The largest
group, daily routine is fundamental to
the ‘Mainstreamers’ lives.

14. Were my assumptions correct?
Q9- How do you go about
your day to day life?
This one surprised me. The answers
were split 50/50. I didn’t think Kanye
West fans would be ‘Strugglers’, but it
seems there’s just as many Strugglers
as there is not. Half live for today,
partying with little direction in life,
whilst the other half plan are
responsible and plan in advance.
Strugglers often seek escape from
conventional life, and are often seen
as victims, losers and wasters.. Sorry
guys!

15. Were my assumptions correct?
Q10 – How do you live in
the present?
I was correct in assuming Kanye
West fans weren’t ‘Resigned’ and
looked to the future instead of
reflecting on the past. However 25%
unexpectedly were ‘Resigned’, I did
some further research and the were
predictably the same people and
answered 50+ in Q1. The ‘Resigned’
are predominantly older and reflect
on the past with a nostalgic glow.

16. What type of people are kanye
fans?
So, from this information we can gather that Kanye
West fans are mostly teenagers, but this goes to show
that age is just a number as the result was so diverse.
We also learnt that not all of Kanye’s fans actually like
him as a person, but still appreciate his music. We
found that they tended to be Explorers, Aspirers,
Reformers and Mainstream. They weren’t however
Succeeders or Resigned, whilst being split 50/50 on
being Strugglers.